UK Health & Wellness Success Stories Archive
One Step at a Time
In March 2007, the Health & Wellness team received this e-mail:
Good afternoon –
I joined the Wildcat Walk last year at this time. I could only walk around 2,000 steps a day then. I have continued to count my steps and try to increase them a little at a time. My pulmonary specialist put a limit of 7,500 steps on me. I admit I don’t walk that much every day, but I consider myself a success story. I have lost 55 pounds. My asthma is much better and I feel much better. I have set myself the goal of another 50 pounds this year, but even if I don’t make that goal, I will keep walking.
Thank you so much for this program. It has and is changing my life.
Pat Field
Physician Assistant Studies
College of Health Sciences
We just had to follow up to see how Pat achieved this impressive accomplishment:
H&W: Why did you decide to participate in the Wildcat Walk [now Wildcats on the Move] program?
Pat: I wanted to start to exercise and with my asthma I have never been able to do anything, or so I thought. So I thought that I could walk. I cannot walk outside, so I did not participate in the organized walks. I set up my own program. One step at a time. With the [pedo]meter, I was able to check my steps, not miles, every day and slowly increase. When someone says the path is only a mile, I would think – “yeah, and who can walk a mile?” Counting steps is so great – you do not even realize that you are walking a mile. I developed my own program by counting the steps each day, and I kept the log. I found that I could walk down the hall and back and add steps. Pretty soon I had increased by steps by 500 to 1,000 at day. We are talking about a person that did not walk anywhere if I could get out of it. We are not talking about a person that wants to walk a mile a day – I was happy just to get to my car without sitting down for a break so that I could breath.
H&W: What was the best part of your journey and the biggest challenge?
Pat: The best part was I had found an exercise that I could do at my own pace and I could improve at my own pace. The biggest challenge was realizing that I could walk. I had such a hard time breathing that walking always meant out-of-breath or leg pain or lung pain. I found I can walk – inside. I can walk 3 miles a day, only not at one time, divided up during the day. I found I could do this! The day that I walked 9,000 steps, I was beside myself with accomplishment and joy. This was me walking a step at a time.
H&W: Was it difficult?
PF: Yes it was difficult. I had not had any type of exercise in years. Overcoming the negative thoughts of “I can’t do this” – “I can’t breath” – “I am exhausted” – was difficult. When you have not walked but the bare necessities for years, walking is a major thing to accomplish.
H&W: Did you enjoy it?
PF: Yes, I enjoyed it – the fact that I could. Even if I just walked 50 steps more today than yesterday, I did it. I was walking and believe me that was and is a great big deal. I never walked, I used the phone or e-mail.
H&W: Any advice for others?
PF: The trick that worked for me: Don’t compare what you can do to what others are doing or say they can do or what goals others set for you. Set your own goals: “I am going to walk 20 or 50 more steps each day this week than I did last week. That means I will walk to the end of my office and back one extra time a day, and not use the phone to call – I will walk down there.” Set small goals that you can achieve, but keep setting them higher each day or even each week. Small steps were the answer for me for both the walking and the changes in my diet.
To date, Pat has lost 65 pounds and has joined the Health & Wellness team as an advocate.
For this couple, losing is a win-win situation
Tim and Julene Jones know what it’s like to be losers. The married couple, both UK employees, were the winners of Weight Loss Matters’ “Biggest Loser” competition last winter.
“We decided to enroll because it would be a kick-start to a healthier lifestyle for us,” said Tim, who works for the Kentucky Transportation Center.
Julene lost 10.8% of her start weight; Tim lost 9.3%.
“(Weight Loss Matters) was a lot easier than I thought it would be,” said Julene, who works for the Libraries in Special Projects. “Karen (Bryla McNees) and Kim (Moore) were very encouraging when I would see them at our weekly class, and Tim gave me tons of support during the week, especially when we would exercise together and plan our meals.”
Tim agreed that the program was not difficult, but did say that it required “some thought when planning and preparing meals.”
“The biggest challenge has been to overcome or deal with emotional and mental issues with regard to weight loss and appearance,” said Tim. “For example, it was rather intimidating to walk into the gym the first time. I just wanted to be invisible. But as time progressed, I realized there were others at the gym for the same reason I was – to lose weight.”
For Julene, the biggest challenge was recognizing and overcoming her emotionally driven eating habits.
“When I would have a bad day, I used to eat to feel better,” she explained. “Now, I’ve realized that I deserve to be healthy. That’s become my motto – that I deserve to be healthy.”
Since the program Tim has maintained his weight loss and Julene has continued to lose.
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The hardest part of the program was making the initial phone call’
Charlene Wesley joined UK’s Weight Loss Matters program in May 2007 and attended two 10-week sessions. We asked Charlene to tell us what the program was like for her. She said the lessons she learned will stay with her the rest of her life:
H&W: Why did you decide to start Weight Loss Matters?
Charlene: I decided to join the Weight Loss Matters program because my weight was getting out of control and the physical constraints were beginning to control my life. When I realized that my weight was limiting me, I decided it was time to do something about it.
H&W: Was the program difficult?
Charlene: The program is not difficult at all! They provide a food plan, not actual menus, based on your current weight, physical activity, etc., that lets you incorporate all foods. When you surrender your eating habits to that plan instead of trying to force them into the plan, it works like a charm.
H&W: Did you enjoy it?
Charlene: I did enjoy the program, the ease of it all. I lost weight even without an exercise program. I enjoyed keeping track of what was going into my body. It was almost like a science experiment. I actually felt like I was finally in control of some part of my life. I was never hungry and my energy level started to soar almost immediately. I lost weight the very first week and after gaining weight steadily for almost two years, it was a much needed boost to my confidence level. I learned something new each week during the classes and the support from the staff was tremendous; always encouraging.
H&W: Have you been able to keep the weight off?
Charlene: I have been able to keep the weight off. I had a relapse of sorts during the holidays, but as soon as I started writing down my food intake again, the weight started coming off again. I don't write my intake on a daily basis anymore, but I know if I start gaining again, the weight loss is just a pencil stroke away. I think differently about what role food plays in my life and I think that makes the biggest difference for me. I have lost an additional 10 pounds since attending the program and would lose even more if I put myself back into that routine.
H&W: What was your biggest challenge?
Charlene: The hardest part of the program was making the initial phone call and admitting that I had issues with the weight. I thought I would be embarrassed going to a weight loss program, but everyone has the same interest in mind and they are working on their own goals. It’s just as encouraging seeing them attend as it was to attend myself.
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